.svg)
1,326
edits
Siege of Sirhind: Difference between revisions
robot: Create/update articles. If there is a mistake please report on my talk page.
imported>CanadianSingh1469 mNo edit summary |
(robot: Create/update articles. If there is a mistake please report on my talk page.) |
||
| Line 2: | Line 2: | ||
| conflict = Battle of Sirhind | | conflict = Battle of Sirhind | ||
| partof = [[Mughal-Sikh Wars]] | | partof = [[Mughal-Sikh Wars]] | ||
| image = | | image = Battle of Sirhind (1710).png | ||
| caption = | | caption = 18th century Mughal illustrated folio depicting the Sikhs (in blue) versus the Mughals (in white) at the battle of Sirhind | ||
| date = 1710 | | date = 1710 | ||
| place = | | place = Sirhind (modern [[Punjab, India]]) | ||
| territory = | | territory = | ||
| result = | | result = Sikh victory<ref name="sarsa">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=06k5ygAACAAJ|title=Dictionary of Battles and Sieges|page=948|author= Jacques, Tony|publisher=Greenwood Press |year=2007|isbn=978-0-313-33536-5}}</ref> | ||
| | | combatant1 = {{flagicon image|Punjab flag.svg}} [[Khalsa]] | ||
| | | combatant2 = {{flagicon image|Alam of the Mughal Empire.svg}} [[Mughal Empire]] | ||
| | | commander1 = {{plainlist| | ||
* {{flagicon image|Punjab flag.svg}} [[Banda Singh Bahadur]] | |||
* {{flagicon image|Punjab flag.svg}} [[Bhai Fateh Singh Ji|Fateh Singh]]}} | |||
| commander2 = {{flagicon image|Alam of the Mughal Empire.svg}} Sucha Nand{{POW}}{{KIA}} | |||
| casualties1 = | |||
| casualties2 = | |||
| units2 = | |||
| units1 = | |||
}} | |||
{{Campaignbox Mughal-Sikh Wars}} | |||
[[ | The '''siege of Sirhind''' was fought between the [[Mughal Empire]] and [[Khalsa|Sikh]] forces in 1710. The Sikhs besieged, stormed, captured, plundered and razed the city of [[Sirhind]]<ref name="sarsa"/><ref>{{Cite book |last=Dhavan |first=Purnima |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-7HJ5idB8_QC&pg=PA51 |title=When Sparrows Became Hawks: The Making of the Sikh Warrior Tradition, 1699-1799 |date=2011-11-03 |publisher=Oxford University Press, USA |isbn=978-0-19-975655-1 |page=51 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=McLeod |first=W.H. |url=https://archive.org/details/sikhism00mcle/page/64/mode/2up?view=theater |title=Sikhism |year=1997 |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=9780140252606 |page=64}}</ref> after defeating and beheading | ||
[[Wazir Khan (Sirhind)|Wazir Khan]] in the battle of Chappar Chiri.<ref name="sarsa"/>{{sfn|Sagoo|2001|p=132}}<ref name="max">{{Cite book |last=Macauliffe |first=Max Arthur |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bMeclUzAh9sC&pg=PA248 |title=The Sikh Religion: Its Gurus, Sacred Writings and Authors |date=2013-03-28 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-05547-5 |page=248 |language=en |orig-date=1909}}</ref><ref name="gan">{{cite book |last=Singh |first=Ganda |title=A Short History of the Sikhs |publisher=Publication Bureau, Punjabi University |year=1989 |page=84 |orig-date=1950}}</ref> | |||
==Background== | |||
The city of Sirhind was anathema to the Sikhs who were raged to take vengeance upon the oppressive Mughal regime of Sirhind, under whom the two young children of [[Guru Gobind Singh]] were executed on the order of the governor of Sirhind, Wazir Khan and his [[dewan]] Sucha Nand.<ref>{{cite book|title=A History of the Sikhs: 1469-1838|last=Singh|first=Khushwant|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofsikhs1401khus/page/105/mode/1up?view=theater | |||
|publisher=Oxford University Press|year= 2004|isbn=9780195673081|page=105}}</ref> Some prominent towns on the way to Sirhind were captured and plundered including [[Sonipat|Sonepat]], [[Kaithal]], [[Samana, Punjab|Samana]], [[Shahabad Markanda|Shahabad]], Mustafabad and [[Sadaura|Sadhaura]],{{sfn|Sagoo|2001|p=128}} as they could provide military assistance to the Mughal government of Sirhind.<ref>{{cite book|last=Gandhi|first=Surjit|url= https://archive.org/details/SikhsInTheEighteenthCentury/page/n28/mode/2up|title= Sikhs In The Eighteenth Century|page=28|date=1999}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Banda Singh Bahadur and Sikh Sovreignty|last=Sagoo|first=Harbans Kaur|url=https://archive.org/details/BandaSinghBahadurAndSikhSovereignty/page/n139/mode/1up |year=2001|isbn=9788176293006|publisher=Deep & Deep Publications |page=124}}</ref> Due to consistent victories, many plunderers, looking to prey upon the riches within the walls of Sirhind, also followed Banda Singh Bahadur and his Sikh troops on his march to Sirhind.{{sfn|Sagoo|2001|p=129}} | |||
==Siege== | |||
After defeating and killing Wazir Khan in the [[battle of Chappar Chiri]], Banda Singh Bahadur and his forces began their march to Sirhind, roughly 10 miles from the battle field. The gates of the city were closed, and the guns mounted on the wall's forts maintained steady fire on the Sikhs and managed to inflict considerable losses upon them. Fighting resumed on May 13, the fort guns had managed to kill 500 of Banda's troops, in response, the Sikhs fired a deadly volley on the fort gun, rendering it useless and attacked the city's gates, successfully managing to open some of them.{{sfn|Sagoo|2001|p=132}}<ref name="max"/><ref name="gan">{{cite book |last=Singh |first=Ganda |title=A Short History of the Sikhs |publisher=Publication Bureau, Punjabi University |year=1989 |page=84 |orig-date=1950}}</ref> | |||
== Capture == | |||
On 14 May 1710, Banda and his army entered and captured Sirhind, and an immense destruction of life and property ensued shortly after.{{sfn|Sagoo|2001|p=132}}<ref name="max" /><ref name="gan" /> Sucha Nand was captured alive and later executed,{{sfn|Sagoo|2001|p=133}}<ref name="max"/> whereas other Hindus who contributed to the crimes of Wazir Khan were punished.<ref name="gan"/> Banda seized two [[crore]]s worth of government treasury and moveable property which was moved to Lohgarh.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Gupta |first=Hari Ram |title=History of the Sikhs: Evolution of Sikh Confederacies (1708-69) |date=1978 |publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers |isbn=9788121502481 |edition=3rd |page=14 |orig-date=1937}}</ref> | |||
=== During the expedition === | |||
During the expedition by Banda bahadur's troops, numerous Muslim tombs were spared including the [[mausoleum]] of [[Rauza Sharif|Shaikh Ahmad Mujaddid Alif Sani]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Madra |first1=Amandeep Singh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J1cBDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA92 |title=Sicques, Tigers or Thieves: Eyewitness Accounts of the Sikhs (1606-1810) |last2=Singh |first2=P. |date=2016-09-27 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan US (Springer) |isbn=978-1-137-11998-8 |page=92 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=History of the Sikhs: Evolution of Sikh Confederacies (1708-69) |date=1978 |publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers |isbn=9788121502481 |edition=3rd |page=14 |orig-date=1937}}</ref> | |||
Historian Yogesh Snehi noted that Banda Singh Bahadur destroyed imperial mosques and the fort of Sirhind during his raid, where the two young sons of Guru Gobind Singh were executed.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Snehi |first=Yogesh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6YiUDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT66 |title=Spatializing Popular Sufi Shrines in Punjab: Dreams, Memories, Territoriality |date=2019-04-24 |publisher=co-published by Taylor & Francis and the Indian Institute of Advanced Study |isbn=978-0-429-51563-7 |page=66 |language=en}}</ref> Historian [[Vidya Dhar Mahajan|V.D Mahajan]] also writes that thousands of Muslims were killed during the siege.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mahajan |first=V. D. |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.305508/page/n259/mode/2up |title=India Since 1526 |date=1971 |publisher=S. Chand Publishing |isbn=9788121911450 |page=232 |language=en}}</ref> Historian [[Ganda Singh (historian)|Ganda Singh]] writes that allegations of desecrations of mosques are unfounded since the mausoleum of Shaikh Ahmad Mujaddid Alif Sani, which was the most magnificent buildings in the town, was left untouched after the battle. He further castigates the writers of the Siyar-ul-Mutakherin and Muntakhib-ul-Lubab for exaggerating Sikh atrocities, the statements of which were repeated by later writers like Mohammad Latif.<ref name="gan" /> He goes on to write that the Muslim populace, due to their affiliation with persecution and religious intolerance towards the poor and innocents, was subject to indiscriminate plunder by the crusaders impelled by the memory of the execution of Guru Gobind Singh's sons and that the host of plunderers and irregulars ravenously looted and avenged personal animosities. Only the Muslims who disguised themselves and hid themselves in the houses of Hindus were able to escape injury. Likewise the Hindus who were guilty of crimes against the innocents were punished and the city was spared from complete destruction as local Hindus appealed for forgiveness, and amnesty was granted to the city inhabitants after a large ransom was paid to Banda Singh Bahadur.<ref name="baha">{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Ganda |title=Life of Banda Singh Bahadur |date=1990 |publisher=Publication Bureau, Punjabi University |pages=67–69 |orig-date=1935}}</ref><ref name="gan" /> [[Khafi Khan]]'s and Latif's account of the siege has also been criticized by Dr. Harbans Sagoo,{{sfn|Sagoo|2001|p=143}} S.S. Gandhi,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gandhi |first=S.S. |url=https://archive.org/details/SikhsInTheEighteenthCentury/page/35/mode/2up |title=Sikhs in the Eighteenth Century:Their Struggle for Survival and Supremacy |publisher=Singh Bros |year=1999 |isbn=9788172052171 |page=33}}</ref> Sir Gokul Chand Narang, Thomas Henry Thornton as erroneous, lacking critical analysis and understanding, and on the basis of the chroniclers being Muslims and therefore ostensibly impartial to their regime.<ref name="baha" /><ref>{{cite book |title=The Panjab Past and Present: Volume 22 |date=1988 |publisher=Department of Punjab Historical Studies, Punjabi University |page=76 |quote=Certain allegations against Banda, viz., the exhumation of grave, desecration of mosques or setting them ablaze, forcible conversions to Sikhism after the sack of Sirhind, Sadhaura or other places, have been examined by Ganda Singh and finds no iota of truth... a statement of G. C. Narang, which says that the standing of the mausoleum of Ahmad Shah after the Muslims lost Sirhind is itself a sufficient evidence of the exaggeration in Latif's statement, which nevertheless is corroborated by Khafi Khan.}}</ref><ref name="gan" /> [[The New Cambridge History of India]] notes that the Sikhs massacred those who did not readily convert to Sikhism and destroyed the city buildings.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Richards |first=John F. |url=https://archive.org/details/the-new-cambridge-history-of-india-vol.-1-part-7/The%20New%20Cambridge%20History%20of%20India%2C%20Vol.%201%2C%20Part%203/page/256/mode/2up?view=theater |title=The New Cambridge History of India |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1993 |isbn=978-0521400275 |volume=1, Part 3 |page=257 |author-link=John F. Richards}}</ref> | |||
Baj Singh | ==Aftermath== | ||
After the conquest of Sirhind, Banda Singh ousted the Muslim officers from all 28 [[pargana]]hs of the Sirhind division and replaced them with his own men.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gupta |first=Hari Ram |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.73329/page/n69/mode/2up?view=theater |title=Studies in Later Mughal History of the Panjab |publisher=The Minerva Book Shop |page=47|date=1944}}</ref> He appointed Baj Singh as the governor of Sirhind and Ali Singh of Salaudi as his deputy, and struck coins.<ref name="singha">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fa6B20l9AeQC&pg=PA9|title=Sikh Studies|page=9|author=Dr H.S. Singha|publisher=Hemkunt Press |year=2005|isbn=9788170102588}}</ref>{{sfn|Gupta|1999|p=14}}<ref name="gan"/> Although the Mughals could regain control of the urban areas of Sirhind, they were unable to police the countryside, allowing Banda and his men to establish a parallel authority within those areas by levying taxes, raiding towns and trade routes and striking their own coinage.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Fenech|first=Louis E.|url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Oxford_Handbook_of_Sikh_Studies/7YwNAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA52&printsec=frontcover|title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies|publisher=Oxford University Press|page=52|date=2014|isbn=9780191004117}}</ref> Banda Singh made [[Muklishgarh|Mukhlispur]], an imperial fort now given the name of [[Lohgarh (Bilaspur)|Lohgarh]], the capital of Sikh state, made his own administrative arrangements, appointed his own [[faujdar]]s, [[Dewan|diwans]] and kardars (revenue officers), and used his own inscripted authorized seal on his orders.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Grewal|first=J.S.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2_nryFANsoYC&pg=PA83|title=The Sikhs of the Punjab Volumes 2-3|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=83|date=1998|isbn=9780521637640}}</ref> He further abolished the [[Zamindar|zamindari system]] (feudal system) and distributed land among the farmers.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kaur|first=Madanjit|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZG4MycGdpjAC&pg=PA241|title=Guru Gobind Singh: Historical and Ideological Perspective|publisher=Unistar Books|page=241|date=2007|isbn=9788189899554}}</ref> | |||
After the victory, due to the reports of intolerance and prejudiced treatment by Muslims from towns of [[Saharanpur]], Behar, Nanautah and [[Jalalabad, Shamli|Jalalabad]], Banda marched, plundered and chastised the oppressors.<ref>{{cite book|title=Studies in Later Mughal History of the Panjab |last=Gupta|first=Hari Ram|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.282887/page/n61/mode/1up |year=1944|publisher=Minerva book shop |page=47}}</ref> With the entire province of Sirhind under his possession, Banda Singh became popular as the defender of the faith and champion of the oppressors.{{sfn|Sagoo|2001|p=134}} | |||
== See also == | |||
* [[Battle of Samana]] | |||
==See also== | |||
[[Battle of Samana]] | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
{{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||
[[Category:Sikh warriors]] | [[Category:Sikh warriors]] | ||
[[Category:Battles involving the Sikhs]] | |||
[[Category:Battles involving the Mughal Empire]] | [[Category:Battles involving the Mughal Empire]] | ||
[[Category:1710 in Asia]] | [[Category:1710 in Asia]] | ||
[[Category:1710 in military history]] | [[Category:1710 in military history]] | ||
[[Category:Persecution of Muslims]] | |||